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‘Hellion’ is Kat Candler’s best yet

Mark Hinson, Tallahassee Democrat
2:58 p.m. EDT July 10, 2014

Writer-director Kat Candler, an FSU alum, and her young star Josh Wiggins take a break on the set of “Hellion.” Candler will be present at today’s screening by the Tallahassee Film Festival and FAME.
(Photo: IFC Films)

Writer-director Kat Candler, who studied creative writing at Florida State in the '90s before heading off to make indie movies in Austin, Texas, has carved out a career in that other captial city making finely observed dramas about awkward adolescences.

Candler movies such as “Cicadas” (2000) and “Jumping Off Bridges” (2006) showcased her talents for drawing realistic performances from young, relatively unknown actors and writing dialog that rings true to the way real kids talk in the real world. Her low-budget, unvarnished, verite style makes her the anti-John Hughes (“Sixteen Candles,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”).

Her third feature-length film, “Hellion,” marks Candler’s shift into the bigger leagues thanks to a cast that includes Aaron Paul, fresh from his run as Walter White’s meth-making partner on “Breaking Bad,” and Juliette Lewis, whose resume includes “Natural Born Killers” (1994) and “August: Osage County” (2013).

True to Candler form, the film also boasts a break-out performance by a fresh-faced newcomer, Josh Wiggins, who plays the 13-year-old title character. “Hellion” is being shown on Sunday at Florida State’s Student Life Cinema by the Tallahassee Film Festival and FAME, and Candler will be on hand to talk with the audience at her alma mater. There also is a reception with Candler for members of the Film Festival and FAME on Sunday afternoon before the screening.

The raw-nerved “Hellion” opens with a blast of heavy metal music and a solid example of a young vandal learning his trade. The troubled Texas teen Jacob Wilson (Wiggins) heads out to the local high-school football game on a Friday night and bashes the daylights and headlights out of a pick-up truck in the parking lot. After he gets caught, his father (Paul) takes away his beloved dirt bike motorcycle and Jacob is packed off to a detention center that is one step down from a prison-like reform school. Jacob still gets to go home and sleep in his bed at home at night but home is not exactly a haven of rest.

The father, Hollis, is still reeling after the death of his beloved wife, who was killed in an auto accident near Port Arthur. The grieving widower Hollis has taken to brooding, pounding beers and hiding behind a wooly beard that makes him look like a member of the hipster folk band Fleet Foxes. Jacob has been left to take care of his younger, 10-year-old brother Wes (Deke Garner). When a court orders Wes to be removed from the house and temporarily live with his aunt (Lewis), that sends Hollis and Jacob into a further tailspin.

Still, it’s the small, intimate moments that add to the texture of “Hellion,” such as Wes connecting with his kindly aunt by telling her a silly joke while brushing their teeth or asking her to sit by his bed while he falls asleep.

Candler also pulls back and throws in a few twists when the story appears to be heading in a predictable, Hollywood direction. If this were “The Karate Kid” (1984), then all of Jacob’s problems would be solved down at the dirt-bike track.

“Hellion” is not one of those films.

If you go

What: The Tallahassee Film Festival and FAME present “Hellion”

When: 7 p.m. Sunday

Where: Florida State University Student Life Cinema, 942 Learning Way

Cost: $7, $8 and $10. There is a special, pre-screening reception with “Hellion” writer-director Kat Candler at 4 p.m. Sunday at Versailles Lounge on Kleman Plaza for TFF and FAME members. It costs $20 to join the Film Festival and FAME